In recent years, flat panel televisions have become enormously popular in both commercial and residential sectors. As the prices for plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panel displays have continued to fall, and the quality for the same devices have improved, more and more businesses and individuals have purchased such devices for both home and business entertainment purposes.
One of the advantages of flat panel televisions units that customers have found particular appealing is their relatively low thickness. Because conventional “tube” televisions have a relatively large depth, the display options for such devices are quite limited. In the residential setting, most users require a television stand or large entertainment center to store the television. Such stands or entertainment centers can take up significant floor space, which is often undesirable. In the commercial or educational setting, users will often install large overhead mounting systems that can contain the television. However these systems usually require professional installation. With flat panel televisions, on the other hand, users are presented with a relatively new option: mounting the television directly to the wall. By mounting the television to the wall, a person can eliminate the need to take up potentially valuable floor space.
Although the introduction of flat panel televisions on a wide scale has presented new opportunities to both residential and commercial customers, it has also presented new challenges. In particular, flat panel televisions, while usually having significantly smaller depth or profile than conventional “tube” televisions, tend to be quite heavy. Particularly for flat panel televisions with large screens, this weight can become also prohibitively great. With such large weights involved, it is especially important that users can easily, safely, and securely mount the devices without having to make substantial adjustments.
A number of conventional wall mounting systems involve the use of a relatively large wall mounting plate and a plurality of adapter brackets that are configured to attach to the back of a television or other display device. Each adapter bracket typically includes a screw or similar fastener that is used to secure the adapter bracket relative to the wall mounting plate. One such adapter bracket is shown at 100 in FIG. 1. The conventional adapter bracket 100 includes a pair of side portions which bound a mounting contact portion 102. An upper hook 108 and a lower guiding portion 110 are located on each side portion 104, which together define a receiving region 122 for the wall mounting plate. The upper hook 108 is formed on each of the side portions 104 at substantially the same position. Each upper hook 108 and/or lower guiding portion 110 may be formed as one piece with the rest of the adapter bracket 100 or, alternatively, each upper hook 108 and/or lower guiding portion 110 may comprise a separate component which is coupled to the adapter bracket 100 in the appropriate position. A plurality of openings 112 are used to connect the conventional adapter bracket 100 to a television or other flat panel display.
The lower guiding portion 110 includes a longitudinal surface 120, through which a fastener may be threaded. When the conventional adapter bracket 100 has been correctly positioned relative to the wall mounting plate (with the conventional adapter bracket 100 already being coupled to a television or display device), the movement upwards relative to the longitudinal surface 120, causes it to move through an opening in the longitudinal surface 120 and press against the wall mounting plate. This action impedes the conventional adapter bracket 100 from being pulled away from the wall mounting plate.
Although the system discussed in FIG. 1 is useful, it relies upon the ability of an installer to access the fastener when the conventional adapter bracket 100, which is attached to a television during installation, has been mated with the wall mounting bracket. However, when correctly positioned, the space between the television and the wall or other mounting surface is quite small, in the range of a few inches on occasion. When smaller televisions are being mounted, the conventional adapter bracket 100 does not need to be very long, and an installer may only have to place his or her hand in the open space. However, flat panel televisions are becoming increasingly large in size, now reaching or even exceeding 63″ in screen size. This increase in size inherently results in a substantial increase in weight for the unit. Because of this weight, the various mounting system components must also become larger in size. The end result of this increase in size is that the fastener on the conventional adapter bracket 100 becomes much more difficult to reach. For example, when a 23″ television is being mounted, the installer may only have to place his hand behind the television to reach the fastener. With a 63″ television on the other hand, the installer may have to place much, if not all of his entire arm behind the television before reaching the fastener. With the aforementioned small space between the television and the wall, this can become difficult or even impossible for the average person.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved mounting system that allows an installer to quickly and easily secure the system's adapter brackets to the wall mounting bracket, even when very large televisions or other display devices are being mounted.